Kawasaki ZX-10R Forum banner

Mladin retireing

5K views 81 replies 31 participants last post by  bluedevil 
#1 ·
Read about it here.

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2009/Jul/e/n090731e.htm

I never been a Mladin fan but after reading various DMG press releases and interviews with other riders comments I can certainly understand not wanting to deal with them anymore. Like Roger Edmondsons' BS reason why Mladin was DQ'ed last year but Spies crank was never even checked. Those guys at the DMG are complete idiots.
 
#3 ·
I've been a mladin fan for years now. He's not only been a great champion of the sport, but also for the safety of himself and fellow riders. I admire him for not racing this weekend (even though he could easily claim his 7th title) and am ashamed the other facory riders at least have not done the same. And for all you guys who are gonna bash him for not riding, Hacking decided to do the same due to unsafe conditions also. I know there are many mladin haters on this site, probably mainly due to no other reason than he doesn't ride a kawi, but we've been very fortunate to have had him racing in this series for so long. I can only think of one rider who truly matched his intensity on the bike and track, and right now he's cleaning house in wsbk. Mladin never straddled that bike without giving it 100% from start to finish and there aren't many riders out there who can or even want to do that. Here's wishing him the best for his future.
 
#5 ·
I used to not like Mladin, but as of recently i have grown to like his attitude and his outlook on the sport in general. I think he is a making a good move,
 
#6 ·
At first, I was shocked and pissed. Now that I'm cooled down, good ... fuck DMG! Now lets watch them struggle and maybe fizzle away. Thanks in big part their shitty way of handling/ promoting/ butchering American motorcycle Roadracing. Hopefully Alstare Suzuki calls him up, offers him a lucrative deal and... BAM! we get to see a renewed rivalry with him and, you guessed it, Mr. Spies!
And then Mladin can laugh his ass off as he sees the GayMA go down the tubes or (fingers-crossed) they give up and sell it to someone (or group) that actually gives a shit about motorcycle roadracing here in the 'States.
 
#7 ·
The GayMA sold the rights to DMG though so it is out of their hands and they still get the bad rap, sucks for them.
They just want to work on laws now and keep our riding rights.

Mladin was talking about owning a team some day but not under this situation for sure.
 
#11 ·
Im a Mladin fan, took a while but am a fan. Observed him at a lot of races and watched him generally kick ass on the track. Hes one driven S.O.B. I like that. I will miss having him in the series. Honestly though I feel that he was going to retire at the end of this season regardless of the horseshit thats been going on with DMG. I see they got the Buell pace bike back out there in Topeka. What a circus.
 
#16 ·
Thats the first thing i thought when I heard the news. Mladin after packing his bags and heading home this weekend because the Topeka track is unsafe twitted that hes dissapointed in the rest of the riders for not doing the same, also called them spineles. Man doesnt mince words. Jaime being about as strong an advocate for track safety packed up too.
Wonder if the DMG fines them??
 
#17 ·
that would be some dumb shit if AMA/DMG fines the guys who choose not to race cause its unsafe.. I wouldn't pay it if I were them either (If they did fine them) its your right to either ride or not ride when it comes to your safety and the safety of others on the track. I think this is gonna be a turning point for alot of teams to stop and really think about if they really want to do all this crap over again next season...
 
#27 ·
never much cared for mladin the person...but had much respect for mladin the rider/racer....as was already said in this thread...the guy gave/gives everything he has got everytime he throws a leg over a bike...he had every right to refuse to race if he felt the track was unsafe and i also felt that regardless this was most likely his last year racing...however, he shouldn't have been so suprised that the other factory riders didn't support his point of view considering how badly he and yosh suzuki has been sweeping the field all these years....at least this clears the way for johnny rock page...:mrgreen:
 
#33 ·
Dang this is very Sad News...I am going to miss all the fair racing by Mladin and competition he took down. :headshake: :lol: :helmet:
 
#37 ·
Yeah, and maybe mladin should have hit him in the nose. After all, pegram had already invested the prior weekend on a track day practicing on the track with guys like you and me to help get a "leg up" on the competition. Look, these racers ain't politicians and I certainly don't want them to be. Mladin probably let his emotions take over and said some things he prob shouldn't have said, he always has and that's one of the things I like about him. But that's a racers mentality. I think it says more about the other racers and the ama for not ensuring the safety of themselves and competitors than mladin's or hacking's attempts to prevent serious injuries. I honestly believe that pegram, bostrom, hayes, etc might have been more motivated to stay just because mladin was out for the chance of a couple wins that they prob would not have gotten if mladin raced.
 
#48 ·
Mladin probably would've won all weekend long, but him walking out only made him look bad. Safety was not his first concern, the track was inspected before it was officially set on the calender. Everything the riders wanted done was done prior to this race. After Mladin walking and saying he wanted to "punch Pegram in the face" he's the only one who looks bad now. All he wanted to do was throw his weight around and hope everyone else followed, if that makes them spineless then so be it. All in all I think Mladin is a bitch!
 
#49 ·
I don't know when the wall was taken down and when Mladin decided to put his bike ont he trailer and leave...but from Pegrams statements about the track willing to listen to the riders and do what was necessary, I think makes Mladin look like a poor sport. I think the reasoning behind leaving the wall in place for this year was they didn't have the time and materials to fill in the ditch behind the wall......I will agree that it should have been done before the race weekend, but if they agreed to take care of it for the 2010 season and do it properly, I don't understand the guys that pulled out. Couldn't they have put an air fence there or something? I am sure there would have been some way to make it safer for the riders in such a manner that those 3 that pulled out would have raced.....who knows.......
 
#50 ·
http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=37608

Yeah, what the hell's so bad about an old, run-down track that hasn't been used for top level competition for years? :rolleyes:

I knew there'd be people on here that would call BS on Mat and others not wanting to race. Do yourselves a favor and read what Mladin has to say about safety and racing in general instead of thinking he's a dick because he embarrasses your favorite rider/team on a regular basis. He has nothing to prove to anyone, including the cocksuckers at dmg. All he cares about is him and other racers, especially the young up-and-comers, being able to leave the track under their own power instead of in an ambulance or a meat wagon. Like was mentioned earlier, the only reason more riders didn't follow him, Hacking, and a few others was that they aren't successful enough to be pissing people off.

And before you talk about how safe a track is, remember that Mat and the handful of top guys in the series are going quicker than any of us will ever go. I'm pretty sure people would change their minds if they got to see a track at the pace that Mladin does.
 
#55 ·
weather this was directed at me or not is immaterial.....did anyone bitch about how unsafe Mid Ohio was last year when Mladin tossed his bike through the grass coming through the chicane and his bike went across the track at the exit of the Keyhole? Racing is dangerous in and of itself.....no one will dispute that.....again, the fact that the track owners were willing to do what the riders asked was more than most track owners would do....anyone that has ever ridden at Grattan will attest to that! There is a track owner that doesn't give a shit about anything but making money....hell, Sam doesn't even WANT the bikes there....he is only doing it so he can make more money......either way, there needs to be some serious changes to the management at DMG and the tracks.....our tracks here in the states, save a few, were NOT built with bikes in mind.....our tracks are nowhere near the caliber of Euro tracks, but that is to be expected.....motorcycle racing here is not what it is in Europe.....and all this bitching is not helping.....the riders need to be solid AS A GROUP to get things done that they want done.......until that happens and DMG makes some changes in how they manage the series, I fear that nothing will happen.....
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top